First published in the BSQ Tracts Series: March 1994 at
the request of the Author.

Preface

This succinct exposition of the basic principles for
starting mental development or vipassan‚ bh‚van‚, is given
on request of yogis who would like to have a practical
guideline and a reminder for their regular practice.

After the initial enthusiasm it is often difficult to keep
the fire burning, specially when the pressure of social life
with all its duties is felt.

With the aim of offering support in those periods when the
practice tends to become somewhat dim and the yogi encounters
discouraging difficulties, the author has written this
treatise. This small contribution to a better comprehension
of the instructions for the vipassan‚ practice is by no
means meant to be a complete survey. Many other aspects which
the yogi will come across in the course of the practice are
not discussed as they can only be understood in a better way
with the advice and guidance of a meditation- teacher in a
personal interview.

1. Why Should one Practice
Vipassan‚?

THE answer to this question can be brief: "To cope
with the problem of unsatisfactoriness in life in a better
way and to become free from it".

All beings yearn for some happiness and security in their
life. Unfortunately nobody is able to evoke happiness just
because one desires for it, nor is it possible to maintain
one's pleasure as long as one wants.

The happiness one can find in the world is fragile. In
case one gets what one wants there will be happiness but one
can hardly expect to get always those things to which one has
a preference. If desires are blocked and one does not get
what one wants, there is disappointment and aversion.

Since people are mainly just vaguely aware of these
processes in the mind, they are time and again affected by
the constant change of fortunes in life, which is quite
unsatisfactory.

"In whichever manner people think of things,
things turn out to be otherwise. Such is the opposite
nature of things. Observe thus the nature of the
world." (Sutta Nip‚ta)

Human beings are endowed with a discriminative mind. As
such they are supposed to be able to know the reasons for
their actions. Nevertheless, people are often not clearly
aware of the motive or the purpose of their activities.

They act quite frequently on the spur of the moment
according to their moods. When motive and purpose are obscure
one may run the risk of using the wrong means. Such
uncontrolled behaviour may sometimes have rather embarrassing
consequences which cause confusion.

Being confused means that one has no clear sight on the
reality of what is happening. To gain more insight into one's
own inner behaviour and one's attitude towards other
circumstances, one needs to develop the mind. Mental
development (vipassan‚) in the Buddhist sense, means to
cultivate a deeper understanding of one's own mental and
physical actions and their mutual inter-relation. To do this
effectively, it requires a mindful observation of one's
activities in speech, body and mind.

Starting an important activity like mental development
acccording to the teaching s of the Buddha, it needs some
preliminary reflections on both motive and purpose. If motive
and purpose are not in balance the progress will be hampered.
The next step will be to examine what are the right means to
reach the set purpose.

The Buddha clearly pointed out that there is but one way
to counteract the problem of unsatisfactoriness of life. In
other words there is a method which when applied in the right
way - heads for happiness. This method (or way) leads to:

"The purification of beings, overcoming arrow
Iamentation, elimination pain and grief, reaching the
right Path and the attainment of Nibb‚na." (Majjima
Nik‚ya 10)

To understand these terms, the Buddha used, rightly, one
should take the time to reflect on their true meaning and
their connection to one's aim in life.

Purification here, refers to a state of mind which is free
from obstructions that cause tension and conflict in oneself.

Generally speaking, just one glimpse of the state of
affairs in one's life will be enough to see that there is a
lot of stress and disharmony. These states of mind have their
roots in craving, anger and confusion which make the mind
impure.

Craving brings about the underlying fear of not getting
what one wants or to become separated from what is dearly
beloved. Being irritable or angry creates conflict and is
certainly not conducive to inner peace. Owing to confusion
which accompanies invariably all these states rooted in
craving and anger, these impurities are not clearly discerned
according to their distressing effects on the mind. Because
these mental states are mainly considered as part and parcel
of one's life and as such something that is inevitable, the
according to the teachings of the Buddha, it needs some
burden of unhappiness is carried on and on.

One needs wisdom to see how these states of mind create
dissension and strife in oneself and for others as well.
Comprehending the cause - craving accompanied by confusion -
and the effect of conflict (dukkha) which is unsatisfactory,
one may feel the urge to free the mind from these painful
states.

Wisdom can be developed by methodically analysing one's
own mental behaviour when there is a reaction to the
unbridled stream of sense-impressions by which people are
attacked the whole day. People are mainly not very selective
in the intake of sense-data. Consequently there is a lot of
unpleasantness. Before one is even clearly aware of it, there
is already aversion, aggressiveness, pain and grief.

When there is wisdom, these states will not arise, because
wisdom is selective. It knows exactly which things lead to
painful states and which will bring about peace of mind.

Wisdom or right view is a factor of the (Eightfold) Path.
Starting on the right path requires initially a little
wisdom. Following the Path leads to the maturity of wisdom.
The end of the Path is the full understanding of life as it
is. With that understanding or wisdom, one has arrived at the
Noble (Eightfold) Path, which means that cessation of
conflict and disharmony is guaranteed.

The first step on the Path to freedom of mind is to
cleanse the mind from serious obstacles like aggressiveness,
dishonesty, cruelty, envy, malevolence, greed etc., finding
an outlet in one's verbal and physical conduct. Developing a
clear distinction of what makes one's behaviour an obstacle
and in which way one's conduct can become conducive to the
development of insight (vipassan‚) needs that basic wisdom.
To assist in solving the problems of discerning what is right
and what is wrong conduct, the Buddha gave a frame-work of
five essential moral principles to work upon.

In a condensed form, they consist of the restraint from
killing and harming, stealing, sensual misbehaviour, lying
and from taking intoxicants like liquor and drugs.

These basic moral principles are not meant to curb one's
development in social life. On the contrary, they serve as an
indispensable stepping-stone for any mental development in
the social, psychological and spiritual context. Their
efficacy, however, has much wider implications with regard to
the progress of insight.

The two aspects of the endeavour to purify one's conduct -
to restrain from the bad and being engaged in doing good -
cover the whole field of moral conduct.

Surveying one's life, one can gauge oneself the disturbing
effects of uncontrolled behaviour. One may question oneself
whether it would be more preferable to accept these
disturbances as something inevitable in one's life or to make
a serious attempt to overcome them.

The effort to overcome them is to develop more awareness,
being alert when unwholesome thoughts have already arisen in
the mind and to curb them. When the alertness is sharpened
one comes to know how to prevent disturbing thoughts from
arising. This exertion goes together with the development and
maintenance of wholesome mental states which gradually will
purify the mind from all agitation.

Effort in this context, is another factor of the Eightfold
Path which operates together with mindfulness and
concentration to bring the mind to tranquillity and insight.
Insight consists of right view and right thought.

Someone who has reached the right (Eightfold) Path and
follows it consequently is practising mental development
which will lead one out of the endless fluctuations of
happiness and unhappiness related to objects. It is with
regard to objects that disturbances defile the mind and that
people experience the short-lived moments of happiness. The
happiness and inner peace that one can find at the ultimate
end indispensable stepping-stone for any mental development
in of the Path is not related to any object but is free from
them. This happiness will not fade away. This is the
attainment of the bliss of freedom from all conflict and
disharmony, which is Nibb‚na.

2. An Outline of Vipassan‚
Bh‚van‚

Vipassan‚-bh‚van‚ means the mental development to see
things as they really are. A Chinese saying goes: "If
you want to know about the pine, go to the pine." In
order to see things as they really are, one has to examine
them, not theoretically, but on the spot. That means, one
starts to examine one's own body and mind by observing their
processes at the moment that they are present. For this
observation one needs awareness or mindfulness (sati).

Another term, equivalent to vipassan‚, is satipa‚na
which means the establishing of mindfulness. Mindfulness is a
bare necessity for the analytical examination of mind and
body. It refers to a plain and impartial attentiveness to the
object of observation, free from conceptual thinking.
Mindfulness restricts itself to having that penetrative
attentiveness of noting the occurrence and disappearance of a
mental or bodily object (n‚ma-rupa) as it is. For instance,
when there is the awareness of hearing, it is immediately
noted as such. When the knowledge arises of what is heard,
the mind marks just the fact of knowing and drops further
interest because another process is already in the making.

This, `letting go', not paying further interest is
essential for the establishing of a sharp mindfulness. It
enables one to follow precisely the arising and disappearing
of all these processes.

To understand what is mindfulness and to be able to apply
it in the right way, one must make a clear distinction
between the function of mindfulness and the normal attention
people have, in their various activities. Mindfulness is not
just a little bit more attention than one usually has.

Attention (manasik‚ra), in its general meaning, is taking
interest in an object, inspecting it with reference to past
experiences and anticipating its future usefulness - `This is
nice, l would like to have this." The knowledge that the
object is nice is derived from a former experience. The wish
to have or to keep it is related to the expectation that it
will have the same pleasantness in future. On account of
these habitual patterns of likes and dislikes one pays
attention to objects in different degrees of intensity.

Mindfulness is not discriminating the object. There is no
attraction nor rejection. Mindfulness is only facing what is
in the present moment without giving a specific emotional
value to the object. Mindfulness deals only with the present
moment, here and now.

When one accurately notes the objects the very instant
they occur and vanish, it will become clear that the moment
which has just disappeared is definitely past. It can in no
way be taken back.

Though mindfulness has also the aspect of recollecting
things that has been noted before, it does not cling to these
things. Mindfulness does not allow things to be forgotten. It
is therefore the opposite of superficiality. The future is
that point-instant that will arise after the present moment.
One is not able to predict what one's next thought moment
will be. Therefore the future is uncertain.

The specific characteristic of mindfulness is to remain in
the present and not to float away from the object. The moment
the mind starts to form ideas about what is noted earlier,
mindfulness becomes weakened. Remaining in the present refers
to the short moment of actual existence of an object when one
experiences it. The lifespan of the experienced object is
many times shorter than the time one needs to blink one's
eyes.

Frequently, recalling past situations or keeping oneself
busy with the planning of future events gives rise to
speculative thinking. This kind of thinking is merely based
on hypotheses or on presumptions which can come true or not.
It is only at the present moment that the intrinsic nature of
things can become clear, free from imaginative thinking.

Do not get excited by what Is old, do not be contented
with what is new. Do not grieve for what is lost, do not
be controlled by desire." (Sutta Nip‚ta, 944)

It does not mean a rejection of thinking. People have to
think and remember or to plan for the future in daily life.
However one should bear in mind that every thought, whether
it has a past or a future event as its object, is a
present-moment-thought. Being mindful, one sees these
thoughts for cannot be separated. They are found in all
matter. what they are, fugitive moments in which no security
can be found by merely assuming things will happen the way
one expects it.

The purifying effect of "remaining in the
present" is that one is able to discern plainly how
things that arise, fall away immediately, giving way to
another phenomenon to arise. When one's noting is unflagging
and sharp there is simply no room for thinking other than the
noting thought.

To make this mindful observing of bodily and mental
processes more accurate and ongoing, it is necessary to take
a basic subject of awareness (Kamma‚na). The term Kamma‚na
means "working-round" which can be material or
mental.

The Buddha gave four basic working~rounds for the
establishing of mindfulness. One of them is matter or
corporeality (k‚ya), the other three are feeling (vedan‚),
the mind (citta) and mental objects (dhamm‚).

The first one, bodily processes, are more easily to note
as they are of a gross nature. For example, when one observes
the expanding and contracting movement of the abdomen caused
by in-and out-breathing, it is not difficult to feel and note
these movements. Movement is one of the manifestations of
matter (rupa). Hardness, softness, heat, cold, pressure etc.
are apparent in the body and can be experienced. Every
practising yogi, who is sitting motionless on a cushion for
some time, will recognise these various experiences in the
body.

Bodily sensations are caused by what are called the four
essential or primary elements (mah‚ dh‚tu) which together
constitute matter. They are the element of solidity or
extension (path‚vi dh‚tu), the element of cohesion or
fluidity (‚po dh‚tu), the element of temperature (tejo
dh‚tu) and the element of motion (v‚yo dh‚tu). These four
work together and cannot be separated. They are found in all
matter.

When the element of solidity is strong and dominant, it is
felt as hardness. When the element of temperature takes the
lead, one experiences heat. The element of motion manifests
itself as movement. The element of cohesion is too subtle to
be felt in the body. It keeps things together by which they
have their shape. One can only know this element through
comprehension.

Taking the rising and falling movement of the abdomen, as
one's working-ground, the element of motion (v‚yo dh‚tu) is
made the basic subject of observation. Though motion is
invariably present, it does not always play the dominant role
in its co-operation with the other three. Sometimes feelings
of heat manifest themselves more clearly than the motion and
are accordingly noted. etc..

At times the yogi may become aware of unpleasant or
pleasant feelings in the body. By noting these sensations the
yogi temporarily leaves the basic subject of observation of
the abdominal movement. At that moment of noting the yogi is
no longer involved in the contemplation of the body
(k‚y‚nupassan‚) but has shifted to the mindful
contemplation of feeling (vedan‚nupassan‚).

Similarly one may, during the practice, become aware of
the state of mind as distracted or without distraction,
confused or not, cramped or relaxed etc.

The yogi exercises that particular moment contemplation of
mind (citt‚nupassan‚). Noting for instance the arising of
sense-desires, worries, restlessness or the experience of joy
and inner calm or one feels one's energy increasing etc., one
is occupied for the time being with the contemplation of
mental objects (dhamm‚nupassan‚).

In all the temporary shifts to various objects, the
movement of the abdomen remains the basic point. After having
observed and noted other phenomena, which are more dominant
than the rising and falling of the abdomen, one returns to
the basic subject.

Accurate noting will bring about the knowledge just enough
for remembering the event, preventing the mind to become
involved in further elaborations of what occurred earlier.

Thinking about the noted object means in fact that one
moves away from seeing things as they really are. One should
not try to analyse intellectually the experience during the
practice. In that case the yogi misses the opportunity to
note the occurence of other phenomena.

When the continuous arising and disappearing of all these
mental and physical processes become more evident, ideas of
stableness, keeping and holding, become shaky. It will dawn
upon the mindful observing yogi that in a constant flux of
instantaneous changing (anicca) there is nothing that
remains, nothing that is substantial which can be called a
perceiver, a thinker, a doer or a feeler. No executive ruling
self (atta) can be found therein. There are only variable
occurrences which follow each other in a constant flow in
which nothing is carried on from the past to the present and
that can go to a future state.

The tendency of people to keep and to cling is conflicting
with the reality of incessant change (anicca) and being void
of any substantiality (anatta). This is what the Buddha
dubbed (dukkha) conflict, disharmony, unsatisfactoriness.

Though still tender, the growing insight in the intrinsic
nature of things as imperrnanent unsatisfactory and void of
self (anicca, dukkha, anatta) is important in the sense that
it seriously weakens the obstructive factors of one's
practice like excessive craving for sense~impressions, anger,
laziness, restlessness and doubt etc. As long as these
obstructions are frequently present in the mind, mindfulness
and concentration will be deterred.

Mindfulness and concentration work together to establish
another important factor for the practice, namely clear
comprehension (sampajanna). Clear comprehension enables one
to understand immediately what is noticed. It is the
knowledge that arises on account of sharp noticing and gives
as it were an extra dimension to what is seen, free from
intellectual pondering. Mindfulness is like a beam of light
that illuminates the object when it is present and clear
comprehension sees it as it is according to its
characteristic.

The type of concentration used in vipassan‚ bh‚van‚
functions as a strong support for the on-going mindfulness.
It has therefore the same characteristic of mornentariness.
Momentary concentration (khaika sam‚dhi) is able to follow
together with mindfulness the arising and vanishing of
objects by maintainig a constant degree of intensity. This
type of concentration has the strength to subdue the
obstructions, facilitating mindfulness to be sharp and
continuous.

Sometimes it may happen that the concentrating loses its
momentariness and becomes too deep for its function in the
vipassan‚ practice. The concentration becomes fixed and
`immovable' and the mind is at that time only interested in
just one object. This may occur when the yogi meets with
extremely pleasant sensations, like experiencing a deep joy
or feeling lightness in the body, etc. Being enticed by the
pleantness, one forgets to note and to `let it go'. The mind
grasps at the agreeable experience and want to enjoy it for
some time. Such an experience may bring the yogi to the wrong
conclusion that he or she has reached a certain stage of
insight which is an impediment for further progress.

"Whatever one may understand
inwardly and outwardly, one has to avoid becoming proud
of one's conveinctions. For the wise have said that this
is not the state of calm" (Sutta Nip‚ta 917)

It will be evident, as is said earlier, that it is
important to keep a sharp alertness in all situations and not
to grasp at any object., pleasant or unpleasant. The keynote
of the practice of vipassan‚ is to protect one's
mindfulness. Then mindfulness will protect the yogi against
wrong view and confusion about what is real or not.

The effect of a more established mindfulness will be felt
in all activities. The five aspects which give mindfulness
its specific significance for the vipassan‚ practice will
become gradually a natural habit. They are:

Its function to notice the moment of occurrence of an
object;

The impartial character of mindfulness;

The ability to slow down one's activities which gives
one the opportunity to observe accurately;

To keep the mind focused on the present supported by
momentary concentration (khaika sam‚di);

The arising of clear comprehension as an effect of
constant alertness.

In case disturbances arise in the mind, one is able to
meet them with more calm than one could do previously. One
can easily let it go, before the commotion becomes too
overwhelming.

The mind tends to become more pliant and it will be easy
to remain in the present. Habitual programmings in the mind
lose their strong grip due to the increasing insight that the
past is definitely past.

Owing to wrong view, the relation between cause and effect
is mainly rather vague. This leads often to wrong
conclusions. More understanding of what is in the present
will engender a cautiousness in one's behaviour, realising
that new causes, with their future effects, are created in
the present. By missing the moment here and now, dreaming
away, following ideas, it may result in embarrassing
situations if things turn out to be quite different from that
which one has banked on. No external agency or situation can
be blamed for the self-created effects of one's deeds and
one's reaction when one is confronted with their results.

In the practice of vipassan‚, through noting an clear
comprehension, one will gradually understand how these
conditions are coming into being in oneself and how they, in
turn, are forming new conditions for the arising of other
mental and bodily processes.

The emotional value of tenacious habits in the mind which
are based on specific ideas about persons and things,
including one's own functioning will become abated. Things
become obscure and confusing when one's own reaction to them
and their emotional import are not rightly understood.

It is not in the contact of the eye with the visible
object or of the ear with the audible object etc. itself,
that the pleasantness or unpleasantness is present. In that
case it will be difficult to become enlightened, because one
cannot close one's eyes and ears etc. It is the way the mind
picks it up as nutriment for its own activities, by making a
distinction between things as agreeable or not.

Just by going to the pine and examining it closely, one
will learn more about the pine, similarly, the investigation
of mind (n‚ma) and matter (rupa) will reveal something more
about their intrinsic nature. That knowledge enables one to
see things as they really are, which means that one has come
to right view or wisdom (pann‚).

3. The Vipassan‚ Practice and
Daily Life Situations

PEOPLE often think that vipassan‚ bh‚nan‚ is limited to
sitting on a cushion for some hours, mindfully watching the
rising and falling movements of the abdomen together with
being alert in the walking exercises. However, when one
leaves the mindfulness behind on the meditation cushion after
returning to daily life activities, it will bring about but a
little result with regard to the attainment of any
insight-knowledge.

Vipassan‚ is in fact not a part-time activity. Mental
development cannot be done effectively when one confines
oneself to only the actual meditation sessions and one, in
the remaining time, forgets to be mindful. The mindfulness
developed in a retreat or in the daily sessions might have
its effect for some time afterwards, but if it is neglected
in other activities it will quickly wither away. Becoming
absent-minded again, one will soon lapse into one's old
habitual patterns of thought.

It goes without saying that in daily life situations, one
cannot apply minclfulness with the same acuity as in the
actual practice. But when mindfulness is consequently
maintained, even at a more superficial level, it will have
its benefits for both one's attitude in social life and in
the practice itself.

Cultivating the habit of doing things mindfully in normal
work-a-day situations has also its effect on the meditative
practice in the sense that concentration and mindfulness are
already present to a certain extent and can easily be
developed to a deeper level necessary for a sharp and
unbroken noting. By keeping the mindfulness at all levels
on-going, the obstructive factors are prevented from becoming
overpowering in daily situations too.

The advantage of guarding mindfulness in one's daily life
is that one becomes less forgetful. It means not wasting
one's time and energy looking for things that are put down
somewhere thoughtlessly or not remembering things at the
moment one needs to know them, because of a lack of
attentiveness. There are numerous instances in which one
finds oneself in a quandary because one was unmindful.

Being mindful in all activities prevents unnecessary
irritation to arise, because one is fully aware of what one
has done earlier. Verbal and physical behaviour will become
more well~imposed.

Another benefit of being mindful is that less mistakes
will be made. One is sharply aware of what one is doing, not
allowing oneself to dream away or to try to do various things
in the shortest time possible. That little time extra that
one gives oneself in being mindful and to do just one thing
at a time, will work out to be more efficient. It often takes
more time to restore one's mistakes than the time one needs
to do things fully alert.

There are circumstances in which one can hardly be alert.
They are called the direct enemies of mindfulness. The first
opponent is one's uncontrolled bodily movements. For example,
roaring with laughter, giving vent to one's pleasurable mood
by slapping another person's back, can certainly not be
considered as a mindful act. Arahats, who are always mindful
and experience happiness, only smile.

People tend to make in their verbal and physical
activities a lot of unnecessary gestures of which they are
hardly aware.

Another imminent danger to mindfulness is the unbridled
stream of sense-impressions people `swallow' daily. They
provide daily nutriment for unwholesome states of mind. The
mind certainly has wholesome states too which arise on
account of sense-impressions like the compassion one may have
when seeing the suffering of others. However, thoughts that
are rooted in attachment, anger and delusion mainly outnumber
the ones based on, for instance, thoughts of impartial
friendliness, benevolence and wisdom. Guarding the sense
doors and being more selective in the intake of sense-data
will not only sharpen the mindfulness but it also curbs one's
habitual emotional reaction to them.

The third enemy is one's passions. States of mind related
to anger, greed and confusion are closely associated with the
arising of emotions. Emotions have the tendency to become
overwhelming when they are not curtailed by mindfulness. They
are mainly based on a clouded view on reality with the strong
inclination to self-centred interest i.e. "my
experience", "I am hurt", etc.

To maintain mindfulness as much as possible in daily life,
one needs to be selective in order to protect oneself against
these hazards and to be steadfast in noting whenever one is
able to do it. It will be helpful to have regular contact
with persons who practise mindfulness themselves and who are
advanced in vipassan‚ bh‚van‚.

Though it cannot always be prevented one should avoid
close contact with persons who show no interest in the
practice or who do not see the benefit of mental development.
However, it does not mean that one should consider these
persons as potential enemies to one's practice. The only
thing one has to do is to protect one's own state of mind
rather than having ideas about others. When one can share
good experiences with others, with regard to the benefits the
development of mindfulness has for one's life, one should do
it at any time.

With the inclination to establish mindfulness it will come
naturally and will gradually become a habit.

The development of bare attention or mindfulness (sail) is
instrumental in terminating inner conflict (dukkha) and
disharmony in one's life. It is not an end in itself.

In this context, it will be useful to realize that every
time there is sharp noting, dukkha cannot arise at that
specific moment, because there is no room left between the
moments of sharp noting of mental and bodily events. The
efficacy of mindfulness is the gradual fading away of
attachment which is the cause of dukkha.

People often consider attachment an indispensable
ingredient of social life. In a way they are right. It is
because of attachment that people start family life or a
certain career. It is however, also on account of attachment
that there is a lot of conflict in the social contacts people
have. There is, in fact, nothing against attachment but one
should realise that it has its consequences - dukkha.

On the other hand, it is also possible that people develop
a genuine concern for each other with impartial friendliness
(mett‚) and compassion (karun‚) or that they are rejoicing
at other's success and happiness (mudit‚). These high
qualities of mind can only come to their full scope when they
are not hampered by attachment. Their effect will be a
tranquil mind free from preferences. Attachment makes people
prejudiced and partial.

Well-applied mindfulness leading to the profound
understanding of the fugitive nature of all phenomena
(anicca), reveals the opposite character of attachment.
Because attachment means holding on, clinging to, it causes
dukkha. When one has done away with attachment, one is
consequently free from dukkha. That does not imply that one
becomes indifferent in a hedonic way. Knowing oneself what
dukkha' is in one's life and becoming gradually free from it,
one will have compassion towards oneself and others as well,
considering the fearful position of being in the endless
cycle of becoming. Having made the mind free from all states
of defilements, one will be able to help others more
effectively, apart from self-interest which has a close
relationship with attachment.

4. Practical Guidelines for
Vipassan‚

FOR the yogi it is important to know the instructions for
vipassan‚ bh‚van‚ thoroughly and to apply them correctly.
Though there are a number of different methods of vipassan‚,
they all aim at the development of insight and wisdom by
observing mental and physical processes (n‚ma-rpa). To
climb a mountain, one can make use of different possibilities
and techniques to come at the top. All who start climbing,
want in one or another way to reach the summit.

If one starts with one method, it is not advisable to
combine it with other instructions or to mix different
methods together. This will certainly lead to confusion which
is opposite to the aim of vipassan‚ namely to reach
non-confusion or wisdom. Before embarking on the practice of
vipassan‚ the yogi should take the following points into
consideration. One should be aware whether one's own purpose
to start the practice is according to the aim of vipassan‚.
The yogi should realise that the practice of vipassan‚
demands a certain `fighting spirit' in the sense of not
giving up too easily. The yogi can be compared to a warrior
going to the battlefield to conquer defilements, i.e. dukkha
in all its manifestations and hidden forms. It requires a
transparent honesty towards oneself. One has to be courageous
and not too proud to admit less pleasant things in oneself
and there should be a willingness to work on them.

In any battle one needs also some rest to regain strength.
One should avoid over-stressing. It will have more effect
when one makes the mind calm and well-equipped by way of
developing concentration and mindfulness gradually. Without
patience and self-acceptance, the practice will become
ill-balanced. Self-acceptance means to take oneself as one is
at the specific moment as a starting point to work on it.
Ideas about oneself, what one should be or should not be, are
an obstacle for progress and are certainly not a result of
keen insight.

Starting the practice, one should wear. loose clothes,
covering the body property. During a retreat one should put
one's things in the kuti or room in order and conveniently
arranged. In that case one does not have to waste time and
energy searching for things. One should only bring the most
necessary things. books and writing-paper should not be used.

From the beginning of a retreat one should make an effort
to slow down in all activities and to keep strict silence.
Talking is a considerable hindrance for one who is practising
vipassan‚ intensively.

5. The Sitting Position

IT is important to give some attention to one's posture
first. One should sit crossed-legged on a small cushion on a
mat or cloth (both legs placed on the floor in full or half
lotus position). The knees must touch the floor, the back
straight, the upper arms hanging straight down. The hands are
resting on the lap, the right hand upon the left, the palms
turned upwards, the thumbs touching each other lightly.

The face should be relaxed, the eyes and mouth closed.

In order to relax the body one may take three times a deep
in-breath and let the breath come out slowly. Subsequently
one directs the attention slowly to that part of the body
which is called abdomen.

When the movement of the abdomen can be felt clearly, one
starts to observe it by taking mental note according to what
one discerns. If one is aware of a rising movement, one
notices it accordingly with `rising' as many times as one is
aware of rising. When the movement is experienced as going
down one notes `falling' in the same way. It is not advisable
to try to visualize the particular part of the body or to
look at it. If the movement is not clear, one may put the
hands lightly on the abdomen and registrate the movement in
this way.

In the beginning it is preferable not to pay attention to
other objects unless they become too dominant to ignore them.
For example, when there is a sensation of pain, one takes
mental note `pain' a few times. Without paying further
interest one returns to the initial meditation subject, that
is the movement of the abdomen. lithe pain is persistent, one
repeats this. One should not allow oneself to change one's
position. Only in case the pain becomes unbearable, one can
take the decision to move. Doing that mindfully, one observes
all changes which take place in the body and the mind as
well.

One should not start with taking mental note of other
phenomena before the awareness of the rising and falling
movement of the abdomen is quite clear and can be watched for
some time without a break. lithe mindfulness becomes sharper
all other events in body and mind that are more prominent
than the rise and fall of the abdomen, should be noted
accordingly. After noting them one returns to the basic
subject if there is no other object to take note of.

While one is noting, it is important to know what is
noted. In order to get that knowledge the yogi `labels' that
what is arising and is noted. It means that one mentally
labels or names, the object of awareness according to its
nature, like `thinking' the moment one is aware of thinking.
In the same way one may note hearing, smelling, heat, pain,
itching, etc. when they become objects of awareness. This
labeling must be kept short, without giving the object more
attention than necessary for knowing it. In case one does not
know how to classify an object, one just lets it go taking
further mental note of the following objects.

6. The Walking Practice

THOUGH walking in the practice does not get so much
attention compared to the sitting posture, it is of equal
importance. One should practise walking and sitting alike. In
both it is the element of motion (v‚yo dh‚tu) that is the
object of awareness though in a different `setting'.

When the yogi decides to do the walking practice, he or
she mindfully changes the posture from sitting via pushing up
the body to the posture of standing. The standing position
deserves as much mindful attention as all other postures. One
should take the time to observe movement in standing as well.
Gradually one directs the attention to that part of the body
on which one is standing, namely the feet. When starting with
walking, one notices the various movements as lifting,
pushing forwards, going down and pressing etc.

In the beginning of the walking practice one can walk a
little bit more slowly than one's normal tempo, noting the
steps, right, left. Gradually one should slowdown the
movement and walk as slowly as possible. This gives one the
opportunity to observe more mindfully the different processes
in walking.

During the walking one should not let the eyes wander
around but keep the eyes half closed looking at the floor in
front. When the end of the walking-path is reached, one
notices `standing' again before starting to turn around. One
may turn slowly in three times, carefully noting the things
of which one becomes aware. After having adopted the standing
posture, one starts walking again.

When there are distracting thoughts, one should stop
walking, no matter in which position one is, whether the foot
is lifted or not. One brings the attention back to the actual
and continues the walking. When one wants to resume the
sitting posture, one goes slowly back to one's seat and sits
down mindfully, noting whatever is clearly discerned.

In all other activities, like eating, drinking, chewing,
swallowing, washing oneself, dressing, lying down etc. one
should be steadfast in noting them, not allowing the mind to
wander around or to lapse into fantasies etc.

When one is able to get a bit more insight into one's own
functioning during a retreat, it will be more easy to
maintain mindfulness in daily life situations too. Mindfully
noting and slowing down one's activities are both
indispensable for the practice of vipassan‚.

7. A Few Points to Keep in Mind

IT should be remembered that in the vipassan‚ practice
all phenomena are just noted without giving any value to them
in the sense of good or bad, with regard to their being
preferable or not. They are just present for a brief moment
and vanish immediately. One should try to be aware of those
particular moments of arising and vanishing of objects.

When the word investigation or examining is used, these
terms stand merely for the open-mindedness with which one is
able to discern things in their true nature and to understand
them in the right way. When one, for instance, is aware of
distracting thought, one may, with clear comprehension,
recognise immediately whether the thought is rooted in
craving, anger or that it has arisen because of confusion.
When mindfulness is sharp and clear comprehension present, it
takes no time to come to that knowledge.

The yogi should bear in mind that there is in fact no
"good" or "bad" meditation. There should
be just the right effort to see mindful- what is in present
in body and mind. Any idea about `my practice' is based on
conceptual thinking associated with self-centeredness.

In order to come to a profound understanding of the
intrinsic nature of things, including one's own life, one
should develop the establishing of mindfulness with, great
endeavour. To become free from inner conflict, not causing
contention and disturbance is really understanding one's
responsibility in life.

Because one lives, one has the responsibility to do
something with this life with regard to one's own inner
development as well as in the social context. Every serious
attempt to make an end of all conflict (dukkha) in one self
is in fact the best social attitude one can have.

One who has overcome conflict and disharmony in one's own
life will not create any trouble for others too. Such a
person is a happy one.